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Vigil80
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Intermittent disconnection since router update?

Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:09 pm

So about the time the WPA crack was in the news, I updated the firmware on my TP-Link Archer C7 to the latest available. Since about that time, my desktop PC (Win10) somewhat regularly loses connection. It's connected via powerline adapter. The connection drops, I get no connection errors from Windows, Steam, etc., then after 30 seconds or so it comes back.

I don't know for a fact that the router firmware caused the problem. I'm just grasping at correlation. I didn't note exactly when the problem started, I just know it's been in the last few weeks. I installed the fall creator's update as well.

We haven't noticed this problem on other devices yet. We can watch streaming video services for quite some time without interruption. Though I suppose it's possible that the connection comes back before the buffered video runs out?

What the heck to I check to put an end to this? Thanks for looking.
Last edited by Vigil80 on Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
ludi
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Re: Intermittent disconnection since router update?

Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:14 pm

Did you try a factory reset of the router?

If that doesn't resolve it, can you roll back to the original firmware?
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Vigil80
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Re: Intermittent disconnection since router update?

Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:51 am

Well the only "factory reset" option I could see changed settings back to their defaults, but it didn't restore the firmware to some earlier state. However after several resets and a reinstall of the current firmware, I got through an extended session yesterday without drops.

Networking being largely voodoo as far as I'm concerned, I don't know whether what I did fixed it or the problem was elsewhere and resolved itself for the moment. But either way, I'll take it.
 
ludi
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Re: Intermittent disconnection since router update?

Wed Nov 08, 2017 3:04 pm

Vigil80 wrote:
Well the only "factory reset" option I could see changed settings back to their defaults, but it didn't restore the firmware to some earlier state.

Right, firmware is firmware and it doesn't usually have any roll-back feature in consumer devices like this. If you want a different version, you have to flash it, and it's usually a good idea to save a "just in case" copy of whatever version you're writing over, if the utility will allow it.

What a factory reset does, or should do, is completely reset the unit's configuration (and user-modifiable storage spaces that hold these settings) to an untouched state. Sometimes that gets rid of a troublemaker, especially if the unit has attempted to preserve user-modified settings across a firmware update.
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liquidsquid
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Re: Intermittent disconnection since router update?

Wed Nov 08, 2017 3:48 pm

Be aware that one of the nastier underbellies of cheaper wireless routers is their limited ability to handle more than a handful of devices. Not saying that is your issue, but at least with my ISP, their provided wireless router handled a whopping 7 before it dropped the Wireless link, and therefore made local devices wired and otherwise seem to disappear for the wireless clients. Just make sure your router is capable.
 
LostCat
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Re: Intermittent disconnection since router update?

Mon Apr 02, 2018 8:45 am

I find it more likely they need to check whether or not it's the powerline adapters themselves. Routers with reasonably updated firmware rarely have issues that aren't a combination of things causing a problem.

Wifi and network drivers can be another story mind you, but powerline is twitchy in my experience.
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